Tone arm lifting device for automatic record player

ABSTRACT

A tone arm lifting device for an automatic record player which is operable both manually and automatically. The lifting device comprises a cylinder and a piston adapted to slide within the cylinder. The piston has a smaller diameter portion in its upper portion, and is biased downwardly by a coil spring which tends to maintain it in its rest position. In the larger diameter portion, the piston is provided with a notch in which an eccentric cam is mounted for up and down movement of the piston. The cam is so arranged as to be rotatable by a cueing lever. The piston is also provided with an axial bore in which a lifting rod is axially movable. On the top of the lifting rod, there is mounted a lifting plate for the tone arm while the lower end thereof is carried on a cam plate for automatic operation. An abutting member is fixed to the lifting rod below the lifting plate. Turning the cueing lever causes an angular displacement of the eccentric cam, which permits the piston to be thrusted up against the return spring. This results in the smaller diameter portion of the piston protuding upwardly from the cylinder and pushing the abutting member upwardly to raise the lifting rods.

atet I191 tlite igata I TONE LIFTING DEVICE FOR AUTOTIC W l"? ll PLAYER [75] Inventor: Toyonori lgata, Skizuoka, Japan [73] Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation, To-

kyo..lapan [22] Filed: Dec. 29, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 213,601

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary ExaminerLeonard Forman Assistant Examiner-Charles 1E. Phillips Attorney-Richard C. Sughrue et al.

[451 Apr. 17, 1973 57 ABSTRACT A tone ann lifting device for an automatic record player which is operable both manually and automatically. The lifting device comprises a cylinder and a piston adapted to slide within the cylinder. The piston has a smaller diameter portion in its upper portion, and is biased downwardly by a coil spring which tends to maintain it in its rest position. In the larger diameter portion, the piston is provided with a notch in which an eccentric cam is mounted for up and down movement of the piston. The cam is so arranged as to be rotatable by a cueing lever. The piston is also provided with an axial bore in which a lifting rod is axially movable. On the top of the lifting rod, there is mounted a lifting plate for the tone arm while the lower end thereof is carried on a cam plate for automatic operation. An abutting member is fixed to the lifting rod below the lifting plate. Turning the cueing lever causes an angular displacement of the eccentric cam, which permits the piston to be thrusted up against the return spring. This results in the smaller diameter portion of the piston protuding upwardly from the cylinder and pushing the abutting member upwardly to raise the lifting rods,

5 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure TONE ARM LIFTING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC RECORD PLAYER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to a novel and improved tone arm lifting device for an automatic record player.

2. Description of thePrior Art In the prior art automatic record changers or automatic record players, which have a lead-in and/or leadout mechanism for the tone arm, the tone arm lifting device is provided .with separate means for manual operation and for automatic operation. Accordingly, such prior art deviceshave been relatively complicated in construction and unduly expensive, as well as desultory in appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a simple and effective tone arm lifting device for an automatic record player, in which the lifting mechanisms for both manual and automatic operation are integrated in a single assembly.

In accordance with the present invention, the tone arm lifting device has a cylinder and a piston slidably mounted within the cylinder for axial movement. The piston is provided with a notch in which an eccentric cam is mounted for raising and lowering the piston, and the cam is rotated by a cueing lever. The piston is biased downwardly by a return spring which tends to maintain it in its rest position.

This construction accommodates a lifting mechanism for manual operation. Furthermore, the lifting device has a lifting mechanism for automatic operation, in which a lifting rod is slidably mounted in an axial bore in the piston body. The lifting rod is movable axially by means of a cam plate, and has a lifting plate at its upper end and an abutment member fixed thereto below the lifting plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Other objects and features of the present invention, as well as advantages thereof, will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the examplary embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which discloses a perspective view of the tone arm lifting device of the present invention, partly broken-away for clearly illustrating the construction thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to drawing, the tonearm lifting device of the present invention comprises a cylinder ll closed at lower end. A cylinder cap 3 having an opening is screwed at 2 or otherwise attached on the cylinder 1 at its upper end. A piston 4, including a smaller diameter portion 4a at its upper end portion and a larger diameter portion 4b at its lower end portion, is slidably mounted within the cylinder 1. The piston 4 is slidable axially within the cylinder 1, and the smaller diameter portion 4athereof is adapted to protrude upwardly from the opening 5 of the cap 3 when the piston 4 is moved upwardly. Between the bottom surface of the cap 3 and the upper edge portion of the larger diameter portion 4b of the piston, there isprovided a return coil spring 6 surrounding the smaller diameter portion 4a of the piston. The spring 6 serves to maintain the piston 4 in its rest position, that is, to bias the piston 4 downwardly.

In the periphery of the larger diameter portion 4b of the piston, there is provided a notch 7 in which an eccentric cam 9 is mounted. The cam 9 is carried on the inner end of a rotatable shaft 8 which extends through the cylinder 1 and projects outwardly thereof. A cueing lever 10 is fixed to the outer end of the shaft 8. Thus, the piston 4 can be manually raised and lowered by turning the cueing lever 10 and rotating the eccentric cam 9.

The piston body 4 is also provided with an axial bore 11 in which a lifting rod 12 is slidably mounted. On the top end of the lifting 'rod 12, there .is mounted a lifting plate 15 for the tone arm 14. The lower end of the rod 12 is carried on a shiftable cam plate 16 which has higher portion and lower portion for automatic operation. An abutment member 13 of a flange shape. is fixed to the lifting rod 12 below the'lifting plate 15. The

cylinder 1 may be filled with a viscous oil, 'such as silicone grease, between the piston body 4 and the cylinder wall for damping purposes.

The operation of the above described tone arm lifting device is as follows: Y

In the case of manual operation, when the cylinder 4 is in the rest or down position, as shown in the drawing, the periphery of the eccentric cam 9 is in contact with the notch 7 at the shorter radius portion thereof. When the cam 9 is angularly displaced by turning the cueing lever 10 in the clockwise direction through the shaft 8, the cam is in contact with the notch 7 at its larger radius portion and the piston 4 is moved upwardly against the action of the return spring 6. Consequently, the smaller diameter portion 4a of the piston protrudes upwardly from the opening 5 of the cylinder cap 3 and comes into contact with the abutment member 13 so as to push up the lifting plate 15. Thus, the tone arm is moved from its rest position up to its raised position. By rotating the cueing lever 10 in the opposite or counterclockwise direction, the cam 9 is again in contact with the notch 7 at its shorter radius portion, and the piston 4 moves downwardly slowly and softly under the action .of the return spring 5 and damping effect of the viscous oil, and is accompanied by a lowering of the lifting rod 12. Thus, the tone a'rm may be lowered to its original rest position or onto the record placed on the turntable (not shown).

In the case of automatic operation, since the lifting rod 12 is carried on the cam plate 16, it may be raised or lowered by the shifting of the cam plate 16 through any well known automatic'operating means. That is, when the higher portion of the cam plate 16 engages the lifting rod 12, the rod is raised so as to lift the tone arm to a raised position through the abutment member 13 and the lifting plate 15. Similarly, when the cam be accomplished independently of the manual operation.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the tone arm lifting device of the present invention is composed of a piston for manual operation and a lifting rod for automatic operation, both mounted in a single cylinder. The piston is raised and lowered by manipulating a cueing lever through an eccentric cam, the raising movement of the piston being transmitted to the lifting plate. The lifting rod 12 is caused to be raised and lowered by the shifting of a cam plate of the automatic operation mechanism. Thus, the present invention provides a stable and reliable tone arm lifting device in a simple construction which is readily applicable to automatic record changer units.

While the above describes the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is clear that various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art and, accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be measured solely from the claims hereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A tone arm lifting device for use with an automatic record changer, having a tone arm, a turntable and a record changing mechanism mounted on a support, comprising a cylinder. Rigidly fited with respect to said support, a piston slidably mounted within the cylinder and having a notch in the peripheral portion thereof, an eccentric cam mounted within said notch for effecting upward and downward movement of the piston, means for manually rotating the eccentric cam, said piston having an axial bore therethrough, a lifting rod slidably mounted in said axial bore, extending above and below said cylinder cam means operated by said changing mechanism in engagement with the lower end of said rod for automatically effecting upward and downward movement of said rod, a lifting plate adapted for engagement with the tone arm mounted on the upper end of said lifting rod, and an abutment member fixed to said lifting rod below said lifting plate and above said piston, said abutment member being engageable by said piston when it is moved upwardly to thereby allow for manual raising and lowering of said tone arm.

2. A tone arm lifting device for use with an automatic record changer, having a tone arm, a turntable and a record changing mechanism mounted on a support, comprising a cylinder. Rigidly fited with respect to said support, a piston slidably mounted within said cylinder, manually operable means for effecting upward and downward movement of said piston, said piston having an axial bore therethrough, a lifting rod slidably mounted in said bore, extending above and below said cylinder means operated by said changing mechanism for effecting upward and downward movement of said rod, lifting means mounted on the upper end of said rod and being engageable with the tone arm when said rod is moved upwardly, and abutment means on said rod below said lifting means and above said piston which is engageable by said piston when it is moved upwardly to thereby allow for manual raising and lowering of said tone arm.

3. The lifting device of claim 2 wherein said piston has a notch in the periphery thereof, and said manually operable means comprises a rotatable eccentric cam mounted within said notch.

4. The lifting device of claim 2 wherein said automatically operable means is a movable cam member in engagement with the lower end of said rod he lifting device of claim 2 wherein said lifting means is a lifting plate, and said abutment means is mounted on said rod beneath said lifting plate. 

1. A tone arm lifting device for use with an automatic record changer, having a tone arm, a turntable and a record changing mechanism mounted on a support, comprising a cylinder. Rigidly fixed with respect to said support, a piston slidably mounted within the cylinder and having a notch in the peripheral portion thereof, an eccentric cam mounted within said notch for effecting upward and downward movement of the piston, means for manually rotating the eccentric cam, said piston having an axial bore therethrough, a lifting rod slidably mounted in said axial bore, extending above and below said cylinder cam means operated by said changing mechanism in engagement with the lower end of said rod for automatically effecting upward and downward movement of said rod, a lifting plate adapted for engagement with the tone arm mounted on the upper end of said lifting rod, and an abutment member fixed to said lifting rod below said lifting plate and above said piston, said abutment member being engageable by said piston when it is moved upwardly to thereby allow for manual raising and lowering of said tone arm.
 2. A tone arm lifting device for use with an automatic record changer, having a tone arm, a turntable and a record changing mechanism mounted on a support, comprising a cylinder. Rigidly fixed with respect to said support, a piston slidably mounted within said cylinder, manually operable means for effecting upward and downward movement of said piston, said piston having an axial bore therethrough, a lifting rod slidably mounted in said bore, extending above and below said cylinder means operated by said changing mechanism for effecting upward and downward movement of said rod, lifting means mounted on the upper end of said rod and being engageable with the tone arm when said rod is moved upwardly, and abutment means on said rod below said lifting means and above said piston which is engageable by said piston when it is moved upwardly to thereby allow for manual raising and lowering of said tone arm.
 3. The lifting device of claim 2 wherein said piston has a notch in the periphery thereof, and said manually operable means comprises a rotatable eccentric cam mounted within said notch.
 4. The lifting device of claim 2 wherein said automatically operable means is a movable cam member in engagement with the lower end of said rod.
 5. The lifting device of claim 2 wherein said lifting means is a lifting plate, and said abutment means is mounted on said rod beneath said lifting plate. 